Dither Fish

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Cstar_BC

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You looking to draw out the hiders or something to take the bulk of the punishment from others?

If the first one, what are you keeping that is hiding?

A little of both .

my firefish likes to stay at the back of the tank and I see him only at feed time .

id also like to add more firefish as well as more tangs . Worried that the tang on tang aggression may scare the firefish so some dither fish might help with both
 

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Well, Firefish can be added but they have a pecking order too usually. I dont think I would worry about the tangs if you have multiples.. just be wary that similar body shapes will go after each other. Like yellow/purples/scopas/ gem.. etc..The Zebeasoma group.. same with Acanthurus.. Powder blue/Achilles/Clown.. and the like.

Also with most dartfish (Firefish) they are jumpers. Be sure to have a top on the tank if you dont already..

The only Dither I might think of are Cardinal fish... Chromis can start as a group but you end up with 1, depending on tank size..

Most of what you might call dither fish are usually near the top of a reef and dive into it when scared or for safety.. so hanging back is natural for them.
 
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Thanks for the replies :)
I do have a lid .

I also don’t like the thought of all my chromis dying one by one so was wondering if there was something else a little hardier
 
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Is your big tank up and running yet? I know you have animal acquisition syndrome.. it will pass.. :)

oh man you have no idea
the 240 is up and running , the margarita snails I bought have honestly been a godsend and I sped through the ugly stage fast .

I run carbon so I’ve got a much nicer crystal clear water appearance

my baby tang is doing amazing so honestly just trying to stock it right the first time .

so many non reef compatible fish - almost think I should have gone FOWLR but euphylia are my kryptonite - must have all the colours
 

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The Chromis is the quintessential dither fish. While it is true you will probably have some pack issues along the way, I would hate for you to choose something poorly suited for the role and miss your primary objective all together. Some things that worked for me; watch for size mismatches, always get an odd number and mix other well suited fish that will school such as various anthias and tangs to spread out any aggression. My anthias, tang and chromis all roll together in the same school for a good part of the day. They will break up sometimes and the tang will bounce back and forth from team chromis to team anthia. Clowns can work as dither fish in a harem also but it is a much more difficult task than with chromis.
 

eatbreakfast

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A group of zebra or scissortail dartfish are some of the best dither fish.

In a 240 you could do a group of monos as well.
 

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